IN THIS GUIDE · Trace borrowed funds without confusing the lender with the investor
Start with the EB-5 eligibility and application overview
Explain the loan and the actual capital path
Keep the executed loan terms, lender identity, source evidence and transfer history together. Applicable gift and loan conditions include good faith and avoidance of arrangements designed to circumvent restrictions on permissible capital sources. Assess the investor’s actual ownership and control of the funds. Do not import E-2 financing rules as a blanket answer to every EB-5 borrowed-cash arrangement.
Preserve the commercial investment requirements
Current general capital is US$1,050,000, or US$800,000 for a qualifying targeted employment area or infrastructure project, with statutory adjustments beginning January 1, 2027 based on petition filing date. Qualifying capital must be lawfully sourced and committed at risk, with management or policy-formulation participation and at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor. Direct employees must meet the applicable criteria; independent contractors, nonimmigrants and the investor, spouse, sons or daughters do not qualify on that basis.
Separate borrowing obligations from project repayment rights
A personal loan schedule does not require the enterprise to return the investment. Capital carrying contractual investor repayment rights or guaranteed rates of return is excluded; an enterprise’s sole-discretion buyback has a distinct statutory exception requiring withdrawal of the petition unless sustainment and the other requirements have been fulfilled. Petition approval is not residence or work permission. Conditional residence begins on immigrant admission or adjustment approval. I-829 generally belongs in the 90 days before conditional residence’s second anniversary, not two years after borrowing. Filing I-829 does not itself remove conditions.
Decide between a regional-center project and a direct investment
A regional-center investment may count indirect and induced jobs shown through an accepted economic methodology, which is the main reason a passive investor chooses it over a standalone business. A limited-partner interest with voting rights on policy matters is a recognized form of engagement in a regional-center structure; read the partnership agreement to confirm those rights exist. The enterprise must create at least ten full-time positions for qualifying United States workers, meaning citizens, lawful permanent residents and certain other authorised immigrants, but not the investor or the investor's immediate family. Ask specifically how the project intends to establish the required jobs and what assumptions the projection relies on, since a project's branding or a regional center's designation is not a guarantee of either immigration approval or financial performance. The permitted methods of counting jobs are not identical between the two, so a model borrowed from a regional center offering may not support a direct operating company. Where a regional-centre project is used, ask how the approved methodology counts jobs, what the investor's exposure is, and what reporting the investor will receive. Where the investment is made through a designated regional center, jobs created indirectly may be counted using accepted economic methodologies, which is why regional center offerings often satisfy the requirement more easily on paper. Read the offering documents for deployment, job allocation, redeployment, conflicts, and exit terms; a regional-center designation does not eliminate project-specific risk.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.
- USCIS — EB-5 investor program
- USCIS — business and investment visa overview
- USCIS — Child Status Protection Act
- Department of State — Visa Bulletin
- USCIS — fee schedule
- 8 USC 1153(b)(5) — investor capital and adjustment provisions
- USCIS — Form I-829
- Current EB5 capital, gift and loan provisions
- USCIS I829 instructions